


Elae

by Rain_And_Words



Series: Fiene [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Companions, Fanfiction, Other, Skyrim - Freeform, Thieves Guild, breton - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-05-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 22:46:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3746374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rain_And_Words/pseuds/Rain_And_Words
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having a boat turned upside-down wasn't enough for the cold land. Skyrim had to outdo itself at every turn. The poor Breton hardly stood a chance... or so she thought. -Non Dovahkiin-</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Her head broke the surface of the water and she coughed, spewing freezing water out of her mouth. She coughed and shook, cursing the north for being cold. Moving her freezing hands out of the water, she climbed out on a ledge that as just barely above the surface.

She couldn’t even feel her fingers and her clothes were soaked through. She wanted to sit down and shut her eyes, rest for a while, but the smart part of her mind told her that she wouldn’t wake up.

She flinched when she saw that the ledge of the ship was a small wooden island. The Breton cursed and slowly let her hands get engulfed in a flame spell. She was no mage, but had learned a bit of destruction, restoration, and conjuration to keep her parents happy. Turns out it was saving her fingers at the moment. 

Feeling, or mostly pain, returned to the unusually pale digits, and the dark-haired young woman flexed them with no problem. 

“Gods damn me,” she groaned, shaking her soaking head. Time for another dive.

She passed into the cold, dark water once more, even though her body ached in protest. The cold physically hurt, and this dive was much longer than the other one. She found her way to the stairs and practically ran up them. Her body collapsed at the top of the flight and she coughed, almost curling into herself.

This time, she did close ice-laced eyelashes, and would have fallen asleep and probably died if the ship hadn’t jerked and sent her into a panicked state. She forced herself up and staggered over to a small pile of- thankfully dry- wood. Using the fire spell, she set it aflame and sat down, grateful the floor was damp and refusing to catch on fire. 

She got rid of the sopped clothing and folded it, placing it by the fire and instantly beginning to warm up more. Breathing a sigh of relief, she slowly got up and, crossing her arms over her chest, began to search the rest of the ship.

After looting an unfortunate Redguard who seemed to have frozen to death, she had new clothes and an iron dagger. Her coin purse was still full, thankfully, which meant she still had around three hundred gold left. Nothing else in the level held any interest, so she headed back over to the fire. 

There was a gaping hole in the side of the overturned ship, so with a grunt, she hoisted herself up. Lightly stepping along the side of the blasted boat, she slid down to a patch of ice, slightly slipping.

“Damn, damn, damn,” she swore as she slid a bit. After waving her arms around like a maniac, she managed to regain her balance and start her very careful trek across the ice paths. How could the captain have missed this much ice? It was almost as if he’d been aiming for the chunks of frozen water. 

A little ways off, she found an old Orc and took the Imperial sword on his belt, switching the dagger to her right and the sword on her left. At least dangerous animals and people would be no problem for her at this point,

She could see the mainland after three more minutes of half-walking, half-skidding, and let out a sigh of relief. Her immune system had a history of failing her, and she’d definitely caught some sort of cold, if not worse. She rubbed her dripping nose, then let out a sneeze that probably alerted every living thing in Skyrim about her presence.

A small fin breached the surface of the water to her left and she cursed, readying her weapons. Her mother had warned her about slaughterfish before, and showed her some nasty scars from a small accident with them. 

“Alright,” she mumbled. “As long as I stay on land, I’m sa-“

Her whole body dropped like a rock once again into freezing water. Struggling slightly, she attempted to breach through the hole that had put her in this very unfortunate situation. Before she could, though, sharp teeth dug into her hand, yanking her back down. Forcing a cry down, she tried a water-slowed swing at the fish.

The arm holding the weapon was stopped, though, by another pair of teeth. She kicked, feeling her lungs burning as the damned things pushed her further down.

The one biting her hand let go and clamped down on her side again, digging its teeth into her soft belly. She screamed this time, causing bubbles to mix with the crimson cloud above her. Water filled her mouth, replacing the breathable air.

No, no, no. She’d just survived drowning to death. Was she going to live through that only to drown to death?!

The young Breton struggled more, choking on the salty liquid, refusing to accept her death. The slaughterfish were vicious little things, but she could be more so. She would be more so.

And, as if the gods above were listening to her prayers, one of the stupid fish her go. At the point she was at, her vision was blacking out, but she could barely make sense of an arrow going through the thing. The other one released her, and she faintly heard a splash from above.

It was as her father always said, she decided as hands yanked her upwards. Will can get you through just about anything.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waking up was a fun chore. Everything seemed cracked with cold, including her eyelids. Still, the bedroll she lay in was warm and toasty, as was the fire outside the tent.

“Owwwww,” she moaned as she sat up, flinching.

“Ah, you are awake.” The Breton glanced up, trying to locate the source of the rough female voice. “I got some fur armor from bandits nearby. It’s beside you.”

Well, convenient. Way too awfully convenient. 

Still, she took comfort in the dry clothes and headed out of the tent, still flinching. The voice belonged to what seemed to be a young Bosmer, bearing a head of straight white hair. A small wolf pup lay at her feet, eating bloody venison from her fingertips. 

“Um, hi,” said the Breton, eyeing the raw food. “Have anything… else?”

Wordlessly, she was handed half a loaf of bread in which she gulped down ravenously. After chasing it down with several swigs of water, she felt better. The fire was warm and the elf hadn’t attempted to kill her.

“… Do you believe will saved you?” 

The sudden words made her jump, and very frightened, “Huh?” escape her.

“You were mumbling something about your father and will. Do you believe that?”

“I…” By the gods, why was she tortured with this type of thinking right as she was recovering from almost dying twice? “I dunno. You don’t seem much older than me, so it’s a weird question to ask!”

“How old are you?” The question wasn’t asked with any vicious intent, so it was answered truthfully.

“Nineteen.”

“I’m 177.”

“… Oh.” _Gods damn me. I always forget that elves live far longer than men._

They sat in silence, her question not being answered. The wolf pup settled down for a nap at the Bosmer’s feet, and the fire danced in her amber eyes. The other girl was about to fall asleep, too, bathed in warmth, when she was suddenly spoken to again.

“My name is Riefi.”

After calming down from the scare, she sniffed in through a congested nose and coughed a bit. “Elae. Mine’s Elae.”


	2. Chapter 2

    The Bosmer was more than happy to let Elae stay for the next few days, to figure out a plan and regain her strength from the long boat trip. After three days had packed, the elf said goodbye and packed the camp away, walking southwards with the pup trotting at her heels.

    This left the Breton highly confused, and almost convinced that it was a joke. Sure, Riefi hadn’t said more than a few words to her in the short time they’d known each other, but she’d grown a connection to her savior. So, gathering up her things, she followed the elf.

    One could just make out the miserable little shape of Winterhold in the distance when Riefi stopped and glanced back.

    “I hope you are only following me because I’m going in your direction.”

    “Um…” she sniffed in, wiping the wetness from her nose. “No?”

    “Be on your way then.”

    The Breton didn’t move, but neither did the Bosmer. “I wanted to stay around a little longer,” Elae admitted. “Because, you know, I owe you something. You saved my life and-“

    “No.” Riefi’s amber eyes flashed clearly through the blowing snow. “You owe me nothing. You can follow me to Winterhold, but that is it.”

    Elae didn’t argue after that. She’d seen the elf’s prowess with, oddly enough, two-handed weapons, and didn’t want a steel axe head in her brain. She skipped forward so she was only a couple of paces behind the Bosmer and they pushed through the wind to Winterhold. Riefi showed her one last kindness by paying for her room and food, then left to the opposite side of the inn.

    With a sad sigh, the Breton ate her fill of the meat and bread, along with a bit of really bad-tasting Nord mead, then relaxed a bit by the fire, watching the Bosmer in hopes she would turn around and say, “Gotcha! You’re comin’ with me!”

    Nothing of the sort happened, so she was forced to go to the room rented for her. Burrowing under the furs on her side, Elae thought of the best way to gain someone was a companion, if only to stay alive. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The next morning, she rose with a great idea. She would just lie. Duh, as if it hadn’t been that obvious before. Riefi wouldn’t mind her if she insisted they were heading in the same direction, right?

    She did exactly that. Once the Bosmer had fed herself with bread and water and the pup with dried venison, she followed her out into the cold sunlight.

    “What in Oblivion do you think you’re doing?”

    “Oh, we’re headed to the same area,” said the girl with complete confidence. “I think it will be easier to just travel together.”

    “Ah, to the same area.” The elf threw her a look that concealed anger with curiosity. “And which area is that?”

  _Gods damn me._  
    

“Oh… the uh…” Elae fumbled for an answer, searching the crevices of her mind for a memory of Riefi’s destined location.”  
    

After thirty seconds with no voiced answer, only a vague southward gesture, Riefi sent her a sharp glare.  
    

“Don’t follow me. Stay here, find work as a maid at the inn or something. Hey… the College is here. Join them, Bretons are good at magic. We are not friends.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    They might have gone their separate ways if Elae wasn’t so stupidly stubborn. She had no one else in the freezing land who seemed like they cared, and she enjoyed Riefi’s company. She was quiet, polite, and rather talented at both two-handed weapons and archery. The elf was someone who could keep her alive, and that was all she needed.

    Elae did have some special quirks about her. She used shadows to her advantage and kept close to Riefi, all the way down to Windhelm. She hesitated before the icy water for a full half-hour, before forcing herself to cross using ice blocks. It was surprising when she saw Riefi waiting at the top of the hill, but continuing once Elae ducked between some rocks. After that, the Breton was much more careful about where she placed her feet.

 All that time, they’d come across several small wolf packs and a larger group of bandits, all of which Riefi dispatched with skill Elae envied. She got a nice hunting bow and some really crude iron arrows, though, making her happy. Her parents were both damn good shots, and she had inherited a little of that talent.

TheShe got a nice hunting bow and some really crude iron arrows, though, making her happy. Her parents were both damn good shots, and she had inherited a little of that talent.

They didn’t spend the night at Windhelm, instead moving on. The elf didn’t give the place a second glance as she rounded the hill, Elae following the whole way. They traveled without much interruption until nightfall.

Riefi headed into the woods, while Elae made an amateur mistake of setting camp near the road. She was eating her last bite of bread and meat when the bandits showed up.  
It was strange to her, how these bandits did it. It was simply a “one moment, she was alone, next not” kind of deal. 

“Hey there girlie,” one cooed at her as she leapt to her feet, tensed up.

“Aww, she’s not very pretty. At all,” his friend complained, a crackling iron sword at his belt. “What a bore.”

She was backing up now, but hit the naked chest of a bulky Orc. Leaping back to her previous spot, she reached for her sword and dagger…

Only to realize that they lay carelessly in the snow a few feet away. 

“C’mon honey.”

“Get bent,” she snapped, drawing her bow instead. “I’ll kill you if you touch me!”

There was a small bit of silence in which her hopes rose, and she actually thought she’d been scary. That was completely dashed out when the group began laughing, loud and grossly. 

“Grab her,” chuckled the Nord with the lighting-enchanted iron sword, before taking an arrow to his eyeball.

Elae would’ve been proud of herself if she’d been the one to loose the arrow, but it was a fine-quality steal one and she hadn’t moved her bow.

“What the-“

The Orc behind her was next, and she ducked out of the way as Riefi charged in, bow left behind and battle axe in full, furious swing. The next two bandits were taken out in four blows, after which Riefi sheathed her weapon and glanced at the Breton with an unamused expression.

“Thank you,” mumbled Elae, looking down at her feet. “I’m um… guessing you knew I was there the whole time?”

“You’re not as good of a sneak as you like to think you are.”

The Breton prepared to get scolded, feeling ashamed of herself. She knew the advice she was going to get: go live in Windhelm, get proper training and money, and then try her luck. 

“You’re as stubborn as a mule.” The elf sighed, glancing towards Windhelm’s figure. “Well, I can’t stand this city, but they won’t bother you too badly. Let’s get you back there, Girl. You’re not ready for Skyrim yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter too. ^^


	3. Chapter 3

    The trip to Windhelm was interrupted by a very big, very angry frost troll. It came bursting out of the woods, and the two were only alerted by the wolf's growls. With a massive swing, it knocked Elae in the stomach, sending her flying back about twenty feet.

    Wheezing in pain, with blurry vision, she laid there in the snow. She heard Riefi cry out in pain and anger, but couldn't stop her head from swimming enough to look up.

    "Oi!" she heard the elf call, before grunting. "Are you okay?!"

    She was most certainly not okay, but when she opened her mouth to reply, her guts twisted and she puked on the path beside her. Ugh, that punch had done a number.

    Her vision did clear up after she got sick, though, and she slowly looked up, wiping the spit from her mouth.

    Riefi was having trouble with the troll, whose wounds healed up by themselves. Her own silvery strands were stained with blood, and bruises peppered her arms. Elae swore and got her bow, which was laying a few feet away.

    "Gods damn," she choked, tightening her shaking grip on the weapon. reaching into her quiver, she got an iron arrow out, nocking it.

    When she finally got it secure, she drew her arm back, freezing when she saw the scene before her.

    The troll not had Riefi by the throat, snapping its jaws inches from her nose. The bosmer had a hand on his throat, pushing him back desperately, while the troll's massive digits dug ever further into her neck.

    Elae crouched down, praying over and over that she made this shot. It would have to be accurate if Riefi lived.

    She pulled the arrow back more until the string was tight, then released the arrow with a satisfying pluck.

    The troll froze, releasing the woodelf from its grip. Elae was almost afraid she'd missed, but it fell over with the arrow sticking out of its left eye. The pup reappeared, zooming to Riefi's side as she coughed heartily.

    "By the Gods," Elae said, resting a hand on her side. " _Why_?" 

    Riefi put her forehead on the snow, breathing heavily. When she was done, she glanced at the Breton.  
  

 "Where did you learn to shoot like that?"  
  

 "My Da, um, used to be pretty good with a bow," Elae explained, rubbing the injured area. "He thought it would be beneficial to me..."  
  

 "You're a better shot than I am," stated the Bosmer matter-of-factly, making it clear Elae shouldn't expect to hear that again. 

"Oh." She wasn't sure how to respond.  
  

 The elf stood, brushing her tousled hair back and making sure her weapons were secure. Elae flinched when she saw the bruises around her neck.

    "We should head to Windhelm now. You're probably got a bruised rib, and I need to check and make sure this isn't worse than I think it is." After stating this sentence, she turned around and began walking.

    Elae jogged through the snow, feeling her heart speed up.

    "We? Are you sure? Are we... a team? Partners?"

    The Bosmer stopped, and so did Elae. 

    "I get it. follow more, ask less."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    After a week in Windhelm, Elae started to hate it. A week and a day, and she thoroughly despised the place. It was beautiful, of course, but she'd always hated bigoted people. She knew a fair share from her home in Solstheim, and they never ceased to drive her insane.

    Riefi had it worse. Several man in the district spat at her, called her disgusting names under their breath, or threw things at her. Even the lady at the inn wouldn't rent her a room without a long debate. 

    It wasn't all bad, though. Riefi invited her to the New Gnisis Cornerclub, where she had her first drink in a long time. The bartender seemed pleasantly surprised to see the Bosmer, so Elae knew she'd been here before. 

    The drink she had was called "Honningbrew", and it was quite possible the best drink she'd ever had. The stuff was strong, though, and she finished her bottle with blurry vision.

    The next morning, she asked Riefi if she wanted to leave, and got a nod of the head in return. They'd gone on frequent trips to The White Phial, requesting healing and pain-numbing potions. With plenty at their disposal, food wrapped up, and the pup trotting at Riefi's heels, they left. 

    They traveled in a comfortable silence all day, occasionally running into a wolf, which Riefi took down with a sing of her ax. The last week in Windhelm had left them the chance to bond, and they found things out about each other.

    Riefi had been on her own, traveling, since she was little. Her parent's cart had been ambushed by a giant when they'd moved to Skyrim, and she'd been the only survivor. She'd discovered a love for two-handed weapons by using big sticks to fight wen she was young. To keep herself hidden, she also practiced illusion magic. The pup had been discovered recently, near Riverwood.

    Elae basically poured her heart out. Riefi was easy to talk to, very quiet. She always had a blank expression, so one wouldn't know if they were being judged or not. Besides, the Breton had never had an actual, solid friend outside of her family. It was probably a bad idea, but she told the elf everything that had transpired in the last few months, ending with her being saved from the slaughterfish.

    It was an all around comfortable relationship, so Elae didn't mind following Riefi through the ever cold land, stepping in the footprints in the snow and doing her best to keep up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the third chapter. ^^ I hope you like it!

**Author's Note:**

> Here we start one a crazy adventure. First Skyrim fanfiction, and I'm honestly pretty excited. XD


End file.
